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Multiples Sudoku

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star
Secondary curriculum
  • Problem
  • Getting Started
  • Student Solutions
  • Teachers' Resources

Why do this problem?

This Sudoku offers an engaging context which requires students to think logically and apply their knowledge of factors and multiples.

Possible approach

These printable resource may be useful: Multiples Sudoku
                                                           Multiples Sudoku Journey
 

If your students do not know the rules of Sudoku then set aside a little time for them to become familiar with the 'standard' Sudoku.

Work together with the class filling in a few cells to make sure everyone understands the rules - the 3rd, 5th and 7th rows offer opportunities for filling cells easily at the early stages.

Then hand out the sheets and invite students to work in pairs, emphasising that they must convince each other that their suggestions are correct, before anything gets added onto their papers.
 

Key questions

Some clues have lots of possibilities and some have few. Which are which?
Which are the most helpful clues to begin?
 

Possible support

Provide students with this possible journey through Multiples Sudoku and suggest they try to retrace the route.

For other Factors and Multiples problems that might help to prepare your students for this task, see Missing Multipliers, Dozens, the Factors and Multiples Game, and the Factors, Multiples and Primes Short Problems collection.

Possible extension

Students may wish to work on the similar but more challenging tasks Diagonal Product Sudoku and Product Sudoku.

For more challenges on Factors and Multiples, see Gabriel's Problem or the Factors, Multiples and Primes Short Problems collection.


 

Related Collections

  • Working Systematically - Lower Secondary

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Adding All Nine

Make a set of numbers that use all the digits from 1 to 9, once and once only. Add them up. The result is divisible by 9. Add each of the digits in the new number. What is their sum? Now try some other possibilities for yourself!

Double Digit

Choose two digits and arrange them to make two double-digit numbers. Now add your double-digit numbers. Now add your single digit numbers. Divide your double-digit answer by your single-digit answer. Try lots of examples. What happens? Can you explain it?

Repeaters

Choose any 3 digits and make a 6 digit number by repeating the 3 digits in the same order (e.g. 594594). Explain why whatever digits you choose the number will always be divisible by 7, 11 and 13.

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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